Cherished loss

I ncreasing dietary calcium (Ca) and dairy protein may help people lose weight, according to a US study. Conducted by researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the Children's Hospital, Knoxville and the Bell Institute for Health and Nutrition, General Mills Inc., Minnesota, USA, the study appeared in the April issue of the International Journal of Obesity (Vol 29, No 4).

The group put 18 obese people on a yogurt diet containing 1,100 milligramme (mg) Ca per day for 12 weeks. The control group (on a normal diet) had an intake of only 500 mg of Ca per day. The results showed the yogurt group on an average lost 14 more pounds (about 6.5 kilogramme) and 66 per cent more fat than the control group. Significantly, 81 per cent of this weight loss was from the stomach area.